ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. – It was the hope among St. Bonaventure basketball fans since the day his fellow countryman signed.
On May 4, Joryam Saizonou, a 6-foot-3 combo guard from the Netherlands, inked his National Letter of Intent to continue his career at Bona. The plan was that with Saizonou on board, the Bonnies might also be able to land 6-foot-8 wing Anouar Mellouk, a fellow Dutchman who played in the same prep circuit as Saizonou and whom coach Mark Schmidt had officially offered a day earlier. The latter even acknowledged that he’d been attempting to sell Mellouk on the idea, but that the decision was ultimately “up to him.”
Six weeks — and plenty of waiting and wondering later — that vision has become a reality.
Mellouk, an intriguing forward prospect who spent the last two seasons at Fork Union Military Academy (Va.), has signed a grant-in-aid to join the Bonnies, Schmidt announced on Thursday.
The Netherlands native chose Bona over offers from Maine, Montana State, Kansas City, Howard, Wyoming and Central Michigan, according to verbalcommits.com. He’ll have four years of eligibility, beginning next season. And he only adds to what has become easily the most impressive (on paper) recruiting haul under Schmidt, a seven-player class that includes two ACC transfers, a junior college all-american and now an ultra-athletic big man with a high upside.
“We’re excited about the potential that Anouar has and his ability to grow in our program,” Schmidt said in a release. “He has a ton of god-given athletic ability that you just can’t reach. He can excel in an up-tempo style of play and can step out and knock down mid-range jumpers and stretch the floor. He can also create trouble for opponents on the defensive end with his long arms and shot-blocking skills. We’re looking forward to working with him and maximizing his abilities.”
LAST WINTER, Mellouk averaged 15 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and over a steal a game while shooting better than 59 percent (and over 30 percent from distance) in a post-grad campaign at Fork Union.
And while his numbers were solid, it’s his athleticism and accompanying potential that have had Bona fans hoping to see him commit.
Mellouk impresses in his online highlight videos with his length, leaping and dunking ability, all while possessing a smooth feel with the capacity to both shoot from 3-point range and block shots. Listed at 6-foot-8, 185 pounds, he, perhaps most interestingly, also owns a 40-inch vertical, nine-inch hands and a 7-foot-1 wingspan, per various scouting sites.
Originally from Amsterdam, Mellouk began playing basketball just five years ago, helping his club team, Triple Threat, reach a national championship, before moving to the United States and beginning his career at Fork Union. There, he came to know Saizonou, who played in the same league at Berkeley Prep (West Virginia).
With Mellouk, rated as a two-star recruit by verbal commits, on board, Bona now has 12 of 13 scholarships filled for the 2021-22 season: the five returning starters, plus a seven-player recruiting class.
And after entering the spring signing period with nobody on the roster beyond next season due to offseason transfers, the Bonnies have seemingly set themselves up nicely for after their five starting seniors (presumably) depart in ‘22.
That core now consists of Wake Forest transfer Quady Adams, Saizonou and junior college sharpshooter Linton Brown in the backcourt; 6-foot-7 Canadian prep prospect Justin Ndjock-Tadjore and Mellouk on the wings and juco power forward Oluwasegun Durosinmi and Pittsburgh transfer Karim Coulibaly on the block.
According to nationalletter.org, players can sign National Letters of Intent through August 1. Bona still has one available scholarship for next season, though it has historically kept one in hand under Schmidt.
